Earl of Ely is a title that has been created three times in the

Peerage of Ireland The Peerage of Ireland consists of those titles of nobility created by the English monarchs in their capacity as Lord or King of Ireland, or later by monarchs of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. It is one of the five divisi ...

for members of the Loftus family. This family descended from Nicholas Loftus, 1st Viscount Loftus, who was raised to the Peerage of Ireland as Baron Loftus, of

Loftus Hall Loftus Hall is a large country house on the Hook peninsula, County Wexford, Ireland. Built on the site of the original Redmond Hall, it is said to have been haunted by the devil and the ghost of a woman. Loftus Hall has a long history of own ...

in the County of Wexford, in 1751. In 1756 he was further honoured when he was made Viscount Loftus, of Ely in the County of Wicklow. He was succeeded by his son, Nicholas, the second Viscount. He had previously represented Fethard in the

Irish House of Commons The Irish House of Commons was the lower house of the Parliament of Ireland that existed from 1297 until 1800. The upper house was the House of Lords. The membership of the House of Commons was directly elected, but on a highly restrictive fran ...

. In 1766 he was created Earl of Ely in the Peerage of Ireland. Lord Ely assumed the additional surname of Hume. He was succeeded by his son, Nicholas, the second Earl. He represented both Fethard and

Bannow Bannow () is a village and civil parish lying east of Bannow Bay on the south-west coast of County Wexford, Ireland. In modern times the main settlement is the village of Carrig-on-Bannow (or ''Carrig''). In Norman times there was a borough ca ...

in the Irish Parliament. The earldom became extinct on his early death in 1769 while he was succeeded in the barony and viscountcy by his uncle, Henry, the fourth Viscount. He represented Bannow and County Wexford in the Irish House of Commons. In 1771 the earldom was revived when he was created Earl of Ely in the Peerage of Ireland. However, all three titles became extinct on his death in 1783. He devised his estates to his nephew Charles Tottenham, who assumed the surname of Loftus in lieu of his patronymic and was created Baron Loftus in 1789, Viscount Loftus in 1789, Earl of Ely in 1794 and

Marquess of Ely Marquess of Ely, of the County of Wexford, is a title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created in 1800 for Charles Loftus, 1st Earl of Ely. He was born Charles Tottenham, the son of Sir John Tottenham, 1st Baronet, who had been created a ba ...

in 1800. See the latter title for more information on these peerages. The title refers to Ely in County Wicklow, not to the English city of Ely, Cambridgeshire; the second syllable is pronounced to rhyme with "lie" rather than "lee" (and so the title is pronounced in the same way as the first name

Eli Eli most commonly refers to: * Eli (name), a given name, nickname and surname * Eli (biblical figure) Eli or ELI may also refer to: Film * ''Eli'' (2015 film), a Tamil film * ''Eli'' (2019 film), an American horror film Music * ''Eli'' (Jan ...

Viscounts Loftus (1756)

* Nicholas Loftus, 1st Viscount Loftus (–1763) * Nicholas Hume-Loftus, 2nd Viscount Loftus (died 1766) (created Earl of Ely in 1766)

Earls of Ely; first creation (1766)

Nicholas Hume-Loftus, 1st Earl of Ely Nicholas Hume-Loftus, 1st Earl of Ely PC (I) (1708 – 31 October 1766) was an Anglo-Irish peer and member of the House of Lords. He was the son of Nicholas Loftus, 1st Viscount Loftus and Anne Ponsonby, daughter of William Ponsonby, 1st Vis ...

(died 1766) *

Nicholas Hume-Loftus, 2nd Earl of Ely Nicholas Hume-Loftus, 2nd Earl of Ely (11 September 1738 – 12 November 1769) was an Anglo-Irish peer, briefly styled Viscount Loftus in October 1766. He represented the constituency of Fethard, County Wexford in the Parliament of Ireland from ...

(1738–1769)

Viscounts Loftus (1756; reverted)

* Henry Loftus, 4th Viscount Loftus (1709–1783) (created Earl of Ely in 1771)

Earls of Ely; second creation (1771)

Henry Loftus, 1st Earl of Ely Henry Loftus, 1st Earl of Ely KP, PC (Ire) (18 November 1709 – 8 May 1783), styled The Honourable from 1751 to 1769 and known as Henry Loftus, 4th Viscount Loftus from 1769 to 1771, was an Anglo-Irish peer and politician. He was the youn ...

(1709–1783)

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ely Earldoms in the Peerage of Ireland Extinct earldoms in the Peerage of Ireland Noble titles created in 1766 Noble titles created in 1771 Noble titles created in 1794 Loftus family

Viscounts Loftus (1756)

Earls of Ely; first creation (1766)

Viscounts Loftus (1756; reverted)

Earls of Ely; second creation (1771)

See also

References